Our Winter Solstice celebration

Winter Solstice, which this past year fell on December 21st, is the day when the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon - the shortest day of sunlight of the year. The Solstice also marks the first official day of winter (although BRRR it feels like it's been winter for weeks now!). Since ancient times, cultures around the world have celebrated the Solstice as a time of rebirth and new beginnings.

This year, we decided to celebrate with a special Farmhouse Table Dinner at the Pantry. Of course, all of our dinners here are special, but we knew we wanted to go all out for this one! Winter can be a long and dreary season, and we think there's no better way to combat the blues than with good food and drink, served to friends old and new, around a shared table.

We were very excited to partner with Art In The Age, a very cool local company that makes highly original craft spirits unlike anything you've ever tasted. Using whole and organic ingredients, they have developed a line of liqueurs in imaginative flavors like Root (an old school, real root beer flavor) and Rhubarb Tea (so fresh and springy and pink!). We decided to go with Snap, which is perfectly seasonal with its flavor profile based on traditional Pennsylvania Dutch ginger snap cookies. Don't be confused: while this booze may be based on cookies, it is NOT like super sweet fake flavored vodka or anything of that sort.

We mixed the delicious Snap into warm apple cider with cinnamon sticks and meyer lemons, and our guests enjoyed complimentary cocktails before dinner. What a lovely way to start a meal!

And while we always cook with an eye to the season, for the Solstice dinner menu, we decided to focus extra intensely on local, seasonal produce.